Watching the dying dolphins and fires in the Gulf on KO brought this quote to mind...

[jtuck004]

I didn't see it with a quick search, but some things are worth repeating...

“Every now and then I am impressed with the thinking of the non-Indian. I was in Cleveland last year and got talking with a non-Indian about American history. He said that he was really sorry about what had happened to Indians, but that there was good reason for it. The continent had to be developed and he felt that Indians had stood in the way and had to be removed. 'After all,' he remarked, 'what did you do with the land when you had it?' I didn't understand him until later when I discovered that the Cuyahoga River running through Cleveland is inflammable. So many combustible pollutants are dumped into the river that the inhabitants have to take special precautions during the summer to avoid accidentally setting it on fire. After reviewing the argument of my non-Indian friend I decided that he was probably correct. Whites had made better use of the land.

How many Indians have thought of creating an inflammable river?”

--Vine Deloria, Jr.; We Talk, You Listen; Dell; 1970; page 7.


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[Mimosa]

1. Thanks for a great book recommendation.

I read Vine Deloria's "We Talk, You Listen" many years ago. I want to reread it.

I'm not against progress and developing modern systems. But we could have done it more in accordance with nature and recycling.


* edited. my spelling is off lately*

[hlthe2b]

2. I know inflammable is used correctly here...

but I can not tell you how many times I have had to correct the impression of others that it was the antonym to "flammable." Given that, I sort of wish people would use combustible... But that is me..

So, who was this person who wrote this?

[jtuck004]

4. Author, activist, historian...

""Mr. Deloria ... steadfastly worked to demythologize how white Americans thought of American Indians," wrote Kirk Johnson.<3>" from
wikipedia -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vine_Deloria,_Jr .

I can't add much to their description, but I like his writing...but I nearly always like writing from an opposite worldview.

[FSogol]

3. It made me think of the ending of the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy

where the middle managers have made leaves their currency and are burning down the forests to control inflation and Ford urges Arthur to appreciate the beauty of prehistoric earth by saying, "Forget all of it. Nothing matters. Look, it’s a beautiful day, enjoy it. The sun, the green of the hills, the river down in the valley, the burning trees."

[annm4peace]

5. I keep thinking: "the Chickens have come home to Roost"

I just keep picturing that video of Rev Wright when he said the speech with "chickens have come home to Roost" when they talked of the oil coming to the beaches of FL and AL.

Not that i would ever wish this disaster any place, but I wonder if those who voted for Bush, now wish they hadn't. probably not.. they probably blame Obama